Ship agency

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says ship brokers and agents are among those most at risk of exposure to fraud in the shipping industry, and urges them to carry out simple checks in order to protect themselves.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has produced an e-learning video for ship agents on the use of ‘switch bills of lading’, a second sets of bills used as a substitute for the original bills of lading issued at time of shipment.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has recently reported a dispute in which a ship agent in Australia was held liable to its shipowner principal for excessive charges demanded by a contractor for the disposal of dunnage and other materials related to the packing of cargo.

ITIC has often issued warnings about ship agents being used by people smugglers to cover the movement of illegal migrants. This circular was issued in December 2017, to warn the membership about a re-emergence of this scam.

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) recently settled a dispute between a shipowner and its Turkish agent for losses arising from the refusal of Turkish port authorities to allow a vessel to berth because of its connection to Cyprus.

The FONASBA Young Ship Agent or Broker Award 2017, co-sponsored by International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC), has been awarded to Niklas Soltow of SCA Logistics GmbH of Kiel, Germany. Katy Aldrick of Seaforth (Kenya) Ltd also received a special ‘highly commended’ award for her paper on the threats and opportunities facing small independent shipping agents in East Africa.

Ship agents can predict their financial exposure to the usual costs of a port call but there are occasions when unexpected developments mean the final disbursement account is far greater than could have been anticipated.